It had a very nice color, almost no head to speak of, almost looked like a coca-cola.

It smelled okay. It had a nice bready maltiness with a hint of star anise or licorice.

The taste was more of the same. It tasted mostly just like a decent quad. Low carbonation, super thin and watery mouth feel, and finishes with a nice star anise flavor and some sugar and alcohol. The malt is pretty much non existent in this beer. Kind of takes on a wine-like character with the plums. Zero yeast character.

Overall, this is pretty disappointing. It's not bad by any means, but it is missing so much character and umph to make it a "wow" beer. Just average. The bottle is cute though.

If you think of plums, it does taste like plums. If you said it's brewed with agave syrup instead of malt, I'd snap my finger and say "I knew it!" Not much in the way of variety. this seems really sweet and one-dimensional. This bitter-sweet ending is just not vetry pleasant. A syrupy taste, a sweetness that doesn't go away. I can't taste any malt but there must be plenty of it.

Maybe this is an interesting beer, but compared to many other Quads, I have to rate it lower. If I saw it in bottles I might try one-- this just seems to need some sudsiness to lighten up the dark fruitcake. On tap at Tiger! Tiger! in San Diego.

This is some odd flavors going on. Definitely a unique Quad...or beer for that matter. Grapes and cherries seemed to dominate the fruit profile especially when warm. There was a burnt charred character running through the entire beer and the heavy handed alcohol seemed to disrupt rather than add to the flavors. Not my cup of tea.

Aroma: Very boozy, with some black liquorice, spice, and a touch of dark fruit and fig. Aroma is so alcoholic that it almost has a nail polish character to it.

Taste & Mouthfeel: Spicy black liquorice and alcohol flavors hit you immediately, with a dry, dark roasted malt finish. Hops are most noticeable in the finish, where they offer a bit of dryness and complement the rich, dark chocolate flavor. Some fig and raisin flavors eventually become apparent, though still very subtle; they add an overall sugary sweet flavor to the brew. Mouthfeel is creamy and smooth.

Final Word: Unfortunately, the strong alcohol presence got in the way of the other flavors in this beer, and made the experience feel lopsided. While the black liquorice, spice, dark fruit, dark sugar and chocolate flavors could have created a nuanced drink, they felt as if they were crushed and compacted under the weight of the alcohol flavor. Had they been allowed to bloom and expand, this beer would have been very complex and satisfying, but instead it felt like every sip was dominated by booze. It was as if each sip had a 50/50 blend of alcohol flavor and ONE random flavor contained within the beer. You’d get a hint of raisin in one sip, but get only black liquorice in the next, and the flavors never seemed to mingle. The potential here was great, but the experience felt like a missed opportunity. Still some good flavors in here, but the profile is much too alcoholic for the subtle flavors within, even for a Quad.

Rating as a quad-- despite the inclusion of plums, this is by no means a Fruit beer.

L: Nice a dark, definitely darker than most quads, with a thin beige head.
S: Dark fruits (plum obviously, but also raisin) and burnt sugar. Minimal "belgian" esters which is in-line with the best examples of the styles. No banana/bubblegum.
T: Sweetness, some roast. More chocolate than appropriate. Hop bitterness is just enough to stand up to the rest of the beer.
F: This is where this beer really falters. Carbonation is just too low and the beer isn't quite attenuated enough. Slightly thick and could use significantly more carbonation.
O: A beer that is among the best US-made quads but really can't compete with the elite belgian ones like Rochefort/Bernardus/Van De Kaiser/Westvleteren. Straddles the line a bit between quad and belgian stout.

From a straight pour it’s purplish black like an eggplant with a soft full head of foam that fell fast but hugs the glass with soapy lace. Left a thin skin on top and has alcohol legs. Nose is really sweet and I’m immediately turned off. Big heavy malt, sugar, molasses and dough. Plums, more dark fruit sweetness and the subtlest of hop floral and spice underneath. Alcohol is peeking out. As it warms it opens up vinous and with some leather and tobacco . Taste is sweet and then some. Sugar, heavy and cloying. Plums are lost to the sugary sweetness and to the taste of prune. The malt is underplayed and could have used more roast, more toast, more depth and some biscuit. There was no hop presence to balance the sweetness and it was thick and syrupy. Yeast tries to offer up spice but is devoured by sugar. One dimensional. As it warmed it developed a bitterness from the alcohol. Without much carbonation the alcohol is fully on the palate and this hits the stomach like a big sweet donut. I could live without it.

Very interested to see Sierra Nevada's spin on the Belgian-style quadruple. Thanks to Chris for splitting this one. Ovila appears black from atop, but shows some beaming ruby translucency when held in front of the light. A small and creamy khaki-colored head settles almost instantly to a ring. Some wet lacing hangs for only a few moments before dripping back down into the beer, leaving the glass fairly unscathed in the end.

Heavy plums dominate the aroma - no surprise there, really. Unfortunately they seem a bit "off" - almost chalky and slightly medicinal to a degree. Not quite off-putting, but not extremely enjoyable, either. There are, however, lots of vibrant juicy and sweet fruit notes beneath the strange plum blanket. Some light cocoa notes, molasses, and Belgian spiced yeast aromas catch on a bit more once this sucker warms up. Mild spices and even a tint of bubblegum. Overall, kind of a middle of the road aroma for the style.

Would you be shocked to hear that Ovila tastes like a quad with extra-dense plum notes? Because that's what I'm about to tell you. Some of the "standard" or common quad flavors are present - dates, figs, light black licorice, phenols, and very faint Candi sugar. But the plums really work their hardest to pull the wool over all of these things. Sadly, the plums on the palate come right along with the weird chalky and medicinal notes that the aroma was putting out there. Almost tastes like a chewed up vitamin. That strong chalkiness carries into the aftertaste along with a faint hint of sugar, dates, and plums. Medium bodied, mildly creamy with medium carbonation.

Not terrible, but the weird and vitamin-like aroma and flavor that seemed to cling alongside the plums was just too prevalent to be fully enjoyable. It masked what would otherwise be a solid Belgian-style quad and instead turned it into a forgettable, slightly better than average ale. Wasn't disappointed to have tried it, but I recommend passing it up, especially when options like Rochefort 10 and Abt 12 are readily available.